Can’t find the device manager in Windows 10? Here are some of the most common and easy ways to open the Device Manager on Windows 10.
Device Manager is one of the most important tools in Windows. In case you don’t know, Device Manager is an applet or module of the Control Panel. This tool lets you manage connected hardware devices and their associated drivers. If a specific hardware device like your keyboard or graphics card is not working as it should, Device Manager is the first place you should look for any problems.
From the same Device Manager, you can scan for new hardware or hardware changes, update or uninstall drivers, and rollback driver updates. In addition to all this, the Device Manager can also give you are a trove of information regarding all the attached hardware devices and track specific events. All in all, the Device Manager is a beneficial tool, and every Windows user should know how to open it.
In this quick and simple article, let me share the different ways to open the Device Manager on Windows.
How to open Device Manager on Windows
Following are the different ways you can open the Device Manager on Windows. You can use any method shown below.
- Search for Device Manager in the start menu
- Open the Device Manager from the power user menu
- Run command to open the Device Manager
- Use the Settings app to open the Device Manager
- Open Device Manager from Command Prompt/PowerShell
- Desktop shortcut to open the Device Manager
1. Search for Device Manager in the start menu
The most common way to open the Device Manager is by searching for it in the Start menu. To do that, open the Start menu by pressing the “Windows Key” on your keyboard, type “Device Manager” and click on it. The beauty of this method is that it works in all versions of Windows starting from the XP era. I can’t confirm it in Windows 95, 98, and 2000.
2. Open the Device Manager from the power user menu
If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 10, you can open the Device Manager from the Power User menu. The best thing is, it is one of the easiest ways to access the Device Manager.
First, right-click on the Start menu to open the Power User menu. You can also open it by pressing the “Windows key + X” shortcut. In the Power User menu, click on the “Device Manager” option.
3. Run command to open the Device Manager
Being a control panel applet, the Device Manager has a dedicated run command to open it. All you have to do is execute it in the Run window and the Device Manager will open.
First, press the “Windows Key + R” shortcut to open the Run dialog box. You can also search for “Run” in the Start menu. In the run dialog box, type “devmgmt.msc” in the blank field and click the “Ok” button.
4. Use the Settings app to open the Device Manager
The new Windows 10 Settings app has a link to open the Device Manager. However, it is hidden pretty deep and not that easy to find. That being said, it is fairly easy once you know where to find it.
Open the Settings app by pressing the “Windows key + I” shortcut. Alternatively, you can open the same by searching for “Settings” in the Start menu. After opening the Settings app, go to the “Settings → About” page. Here, click on the “Device Manager” link under the “Related Settings” section.
5. Open Device Manager from Command Prompt/PowerShell
Like with any tool or application in Windows, you can execute a command to open the Device Manager. This is particularly helpful if you are creating a custom script that automatically opens the Device Manager on script execution.
Open the command-line application by searching for “CMD” or “PowerShell” in the Start menu. After opening the command window, execute the “devmgmt.msc” command to open the Device Manager. If you observe carefully, the command we are using is just the run command.
6. Desktop shortcut to open the Device Manager
If you are opening the Device Manager frequently, you can make your life easier by creating a desktop shortcut for the Device Manager. The best thing about the desktop shortcut is that you can assign a keyboard shortcut. Once assigned, you can open the device manager with the assigned keyboard shortcut.
That is all. I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.
